Clippers' roaring start bottles Rockets

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LOS ANGELES While it's impossible for a NBA basketball game to end in less than 48 minutes, this one was over in 12.

The Clippers couldn't stop scoring in the first quarter, hanging a season-high 46 points on Houston in a 106-96 victory Wednesday at Staples Center.

“They want to speed the game up, and the game was faster in the first quarter, and we were making shots,” Clippers head coach Vinny Del Negro said. “They made some runs at us, but we were shooting the ball well early on.”

The numbers during the quarter were staggering.

The Clippers shot 77.3 percent from the field. They made 6 of 8 from 3-point range. They turned the ball over one time to 13 assists.

The Clippers finished the quarter with an 18-point lead, and while the Rockets would hang around into the fourth quarter, the victory was never in serious doubt.

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